Scenes from a Love Story
by quill.is.mightier
Summary: One of the greatest love stories ever told... hasn't been told. The makings of a tragic romance, before tragedy hit. "It was a compulsion to show her—how he felt about her, how happy he was she had said yes, how he couldn't live without her." LJ. Oneshot.


A/N Prepare for an onslaught of em dashes.

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><p>"Potter. How could you— who do you— can't <em>believe<em>—argh!" Her face was a glorious red as she stomped away, and he knew from experience that the frustration was making the inside of her skin itch, the hair on her head feel heavy, the muscles of her body twitch. It was unbearable, but it was the game they played and he just hoped that the finish line was a kiss.

"Nice talking to you, Evans!" he called after her. He shoved his hands in his pockets and whistled a jaunty tune, because no matter how much she seemed to dislike him, at least he knew that no one else could make her as crazy as he could. He figured that counted for something.

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><p>"Jesus, Potter, if I didn't love you so much, I'd kill you myself." He resisted the urge to ask who 'Jesus' was. There were more important things to ask.<p>

"Does that mean you'll go to Hogsmeade with me?" He knew his mates would tease him later for what a desperate twat he was, but when she sighed, rolled her eyes, and nodded, he didn't give one single flying fuck. He knew he should be a gentleman and wait until their second date (or was it third?) to kiss her, but something about the smile on her face and the feeling in his heart made him plant a big, wet one on her lips right then and there.

She didn't seem to mind.

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><p>This was insane. They'd only been dating four months. They were only just about to leave Hogwarts. They had no experience in the real world, for Merlin's sake!<p>

The words were running through his head, trying to make him nervous, but his heart, his gut, whatever you called it, knew the words were as empty as Gilderoy Lockhart's head. One flash of memory was enough to tell him they had faced more together than most ever would. Tangled red hair, a pale, dirty face streaked with tears and blood, and the sound of a voice filled with defiance and ringing with courage. His and Lily's hands locked together as they ran, as they fought. Sitting by her bedside in the Hospital Wing. He loved her, and this was no time for pussyfooting around. It was a time to seize what you wanted—what you needed, really—and to be grateful that you were still alive to enjoy it.

The ring that had been heavy in his pocket now seemed to fill with helium, lightly trying to float out of its wooden prison and onto her hand.

She'd said yes, of course. _I love you so, so much_, she had said. She had cried and he knew that some of the tears were happy, but that many of them sprang from sorrow. Her father couldn't walk her down the aisle, her mother couldn't help her plan the wedding, and her sister…well, nobody ever knew what Petunia would do. He held her and kissed her through her tears, telling her it would be all right. She smiled that sad, sweet smile, and he swung her round and yelled to all of Hogwarts that they were "gettin' hitched" as the Muggles said. Her bright laughter was his reward.

After Sirius had done his best to get James sloppy drunk in celebration (or commiseration, as Sirius said), and failed, Lily and James went for a late-night walk on the grounds. In the forest, he transformed into a stag, at her request. She joked that she liked him better that way, but once she had told him, "There's just something about you like that. So…strong. And beautiful." He had teased her, of course, and she had blushed and punched his arm.

After a few minutes of her absentminded petting, he had it in his mind to kiss his fiancé, and he changed back to human form, surprising her out of her reverie. He kissed her with everything he had in him. It was a compulsion to show her—how he felt about her, how happy he was she had said yes, how far he would go to protect her, how he couldn't live without her. His hard kiss softened, and he was just about to pull back and kiss her smooth forehead when her hands came round to seize the hair at the back of his head, keeping him right where he was. Now she was the frenzied one, the one with something to prove, and a deep, desperate part of him responded.

Soon he had shoved her against a tree and his shirt had been tugged off at some point. A part of James' brain that hadn't become mush forced his hands to stop pushing her shirt farther and farther up. He had always held back before, so afraid to mess everything up with her, and this heated exchange tasted very different than their hesitant fumblings in the broom closets of the castle. He pulled back his head, ignoring her disgruntled moan at the loss of his lips, and looked at her. She opened her eyes, questioning.

"Lil," he breathed. He thought about saying more, but the look in her eyes stilled the words that were about to escape. It was a look that said, _I know _and_ I need you, too._ "Are you sure?" he asked, worried that his hormones were reading into things. Sirius would hex him for sure if he found out that James had hesitated, but James would take no chances. He'd thought about this— of _course _he had— but it had seemed so far away, like no more than a fantasy. Now that it was possible, now that he had her, hungry, in his hands, he refused to go further until she proved that she wanted this as much as he did.

The most mystical look crossed over her face and she kissed him like she never had before, in a way that only lovers can kiss, and his doubts washed away.

Neither had the presence of mind to conjure a blanket, the extent of their sensibility ending after the safety charm had been cast. It was a dirty, awkward affair, as most first times are, but it was filled with gasps of love and heat and instinctive pleasure.

The next day, as they boarded the Hogwarts Express, they shared secret looks and shy smiles, hands constantly brushing.

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><p>"Where is she, Sirius? You don't think…" James clenched his fists and ripped a program to shreds with his hands, trying desperately not to run his hand through his hair, which had taken hours to tame. Sirius clapped his large hand on James' larger shoulder.<p>

"Mate, I never thought I'd say this, but you don't have anything to worry about. Lily loves you just as much as you love her. The pair of you are right pathetic." James tried to smile but four years' worth of rejection and insecurity were suddenly resurfacing and it came out more as a grimace. Sirius just laughed his laugh, and chucked James' arm. Normally James would have punched him right back, starting a tussle that Remus and Pete would inevitably bet on, but he decided to concentrate on breathing. Breathing was good.

His attention to his respiratory function proved to be in vain when the double doors at the end of the aisle swung open, because there was Lily Evans, dressed in white and stealing away his breath yet again.

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><p>"James?"<p>

"Hm?"

"Do you like kids?"

"Yeah, they're fine, I 'spose. Why?" He did not look up from the Daily Prophet at his wife, reading the latest on Ministry action against Death Eater attacks, if you call it "action" at all, he thought with a mental scoff.

"Just wondering," she replied. Something about the airy response made James' head come up to look at Lily, who was staring into the tea she was stirring, leaning against the counter.

"Lily?"

"Hm?"

"Do _you_ like kids?" he asked slowly.

"They're fine, I s'pose," she answered. He flicked a bit of paper at her and her smile seemed different than normal, like the sun shining from behind clouds.

"Wotcher, Lily?"

"It's just, we're married now. And married people often have children. And I just wondered what you thought. About that. Children, I mean. Having children, that is. Us." James raised an eyebrow and a smirk grew on his face. He pushed off from his chair and wrapped his arms around her.

"Lily Evans, are you trying to get me in the sack and make sweet, sweet, procreative love?"

"The sack part, yes. The procreation part…" She looked down at the cup in her hands. "Well, that would be overkill." James was nuzzling her neck and muttered a "huh?" Once the sack was mentioned, his listening skills were less than exemplary.

"You know. Procreating at this point would be unnecessary."

"Unnecessary? Bringing more handsome, devilishly charming Potters into the world is unnecessary?" He smiled against the skin of her neck, glad to notice that his kisses could still give her goose bumps.

"You dolt, I'm saying we're _already_ bringing one into the world!" James noticed that the tea in her hands was bubbling, and he quickly snatched it away from her. He didn't want a repeat of the Great Window Treatment Fight Disaster of '78. The surface of the tea calmed as he set it on the counter. His hand lingered on the handle to the cup, his head turned away from his wife. Looks like the goose bumps weren't from his kisses, after all.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I just did."

"Well, when did you find out?"

"Two weeks ago."

"Tw—_two_ weeks ago? Well, I'm surprised you bothered to tell me about the pregnancy at all, when you could have just waited a titch and invited me to the delivery room for a lovely surprise!" He heard the words come out, but he didn't feel like he was saying them. He didn't think he wanted to argue, but nothing else was coming to mind. He wasn't old enough to be a father. He had never even _thought_ about fatherhood, except to think that his kids would be more handsome and cleverer than Sirius'.

"We had never talked about it! I had no idea how you would feel, and based off your reaction, maybe I _shouldn't_ have told you!" Her hair seemed to awaken from a deep slumber when she became angry or incredibly agitated. Lifeless most of the time, it would suddenly seem to vibrate with energy when her temper crackled. When he had said as much to her, years before, she had told him that wasn't that just typical of blokes, turning women into crazy gorgons so they don't have to ever listen. But looking at the ends begin to hover away from her head, he was so ready to have that fight again and win. Her hair was _definitely_ alive.

"Shouldn't have told me? What in the bloody name of Merlin is that supposed to _mean_, Lily?"

"Nothing! You're just acting like an ass after I've just told you that we're having a baby and you're supposed to be, I dunno, talking to my stomach and twirling me around with unbridled joy! How would you feel if you were carrying a child your spouse didn't want?" She made to storm out of the kitchen, but he grabbed her arm and he heard the tea boil over the brim of the cup and slosh onto the counter. Her eyes threw daggers at him, but she couldn't fool him that easily. Not anymore.

"Don't get your pants in a twist, I was just surprised. You didn't exactly come out with it very eloquently," he grumbled. She gasped angrily and tried to tug her hand free, eyes narrowed to slits, but he held tight. "So we're expecting, huh?" He glanced at her stomach. It looked the same. How could it look the same when there was a wee little Potter growing in it?

There was a wee little Potter growing in it.

His hand reach out and hovered over her bellybutton. Lily's arm relaxed in his grip and her other hand came around to hold his, still hovering an inch from her stomach.

"There's a wee little Potter growing in there." He didn't know he was smiling until Lily sniffled and he looked up to see a few fat tears squeezing their way from her ducts. He was momentarily seized with panic before seeing the trembling upturn of lips—not upset tears. Happy tears. Holy shit what do we now that we're pregnant, but oh my God _there's a wee little Potter_ growing in there and how _fantastic _is that tears. She nodded at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, strangling him in a hug.

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><p>AN Thought I'd do a little survey of a few important moments. I've never done a proposal or pregnancy story before. Woohoo! Reviews are imperative to slow my terminal disease. Without them, I deteriorate ever more quickly. Please—for my health. Review.


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